December 2, 2014

Advent Calendar

I was a day late to start but I got our advent calendar finished! I realize Addilyn is really too young to appreciate and get excited about these things, so it's more for me but I'm still excited about it. I've struggled the last few weeks with many days where Addi and I have no plans and I'm excited to have something "to do" each day. Even if it's a short errand or making something at home, it will make those days at home a little more fun.

I followed this tutorial online. They have a free printable for the numbers, so I printed and cut them out. I used modge podge to glue them to the lids that I found at Hobby Lobby. They came in packs of eight. My Hobby Lobby only had four packs, hence the missing number one. Good thing I wasn't even ready until the 2nd anyway. I bought a roll of magnetic tape and just cut squares and stuck them to the bottom of the lids and they held up fine. The tins were $4 for a pack, and the magnetic roll was $3, so the whole project was $15.

There is a link to advent activities, but a lot of them were impractical for a one year old, so I made up my own. There of course are multiple baking things, which really I'll end up doing myself but figure we'll both enjoy eating them. I made sure to put bigger things like visit Santa or go sledding on weekend dates so Chris can do them with us.

The tutorial says to put them on a magnetic frame, but we just have ours on our fridge. Addilyn can take them on and off, and there's a good chance they'll be all over our house but oh well. The activity cards are just taped in so I can change them and make new ones for next year. And once Addilyn is old enough to understand opening one a day to get a piece of candy, you can bet I'll be putting some chocolate in the tins.

I am loving this time of the year and hope this month doesn't go by too fast!